Im torn between the two..
 

I have question for the Subaru guys.

I am in the process of selling my 91 civic hatch, and my CBR 600 F4i (if interested PM me) in quest for the
ultimate driving machine that’s practical and fits my needs. Im giving myself about a year/year in a half before I make my purchase. I want to make sure I don’t have any second thoughts. My requirements are AWD, Turbo, room for my wife and kids if they want to ride, daily driver/weekend warrior, and used. After narrowing down my list I decided im going to peruse either a WRX or a STi.

I really like the 03 buggy eye WRX’s, and im definitely a fan of the 04-05 STi’s.
The 03 WRX is prob a bit more practical for daily driving, I love the way they look, and maintenance is prob cheaper than the STi. The STi is pretty much everything I want as far as performance right out of the box, but there about 10k+ more than the WRX, and the price for maintenance is crazy high. I have written out a Pros and Cons list, but im still torn between the two cars!

My question is would it be wise to purchase what I really like, the bugeye WRX, and install performance mods to equal that of the STi? Or should I just chalk it up, save the extra money and go for the all out performance STi?

Thanks for your input guys

Corey

IMO, its best to start with something built with that purpose already. the wrx is a bit too "soft" from the factory for my taste.


remind me and ill give you a ride in the sti sometime.

It depends on a lot of things.... do you like and have the know how for wrenching? What body style do you like the best vs. how 'fast' do you want to go? If its a family car...do you NEED 300 Horsepower and a droning exhaust that will make your baby cry?
My situation: Family guy with wife, 2 yr old and one in the oven.... 06 Wrx limited for her, unmodded...and my '02 16g Wrx Wagon. Couldn't be happier. The great thing about the 06 is, it has the 2.5 which has a pronounced more grunt in the low end. It tends to be the 'family' car since it has stock exhaust.

Buy the STi. The move to PPGs alone eats most of the price difference between the two cars.

Dave, good point however the insurance difference alone may justify buying an older model WRX ;)


oh and I didn't forget about your quote

maintenance cost shouldn't differ at all. They are pretty much the same car.

Plugs may cost more but thats about it.

Remember, nothing really goes wrong with these cars other than wheel bearings lol

Aren't the STis are little better with the wheel bearing thing than the 5 speed hubs?

Yes they are with the 5x114 hubs.. But Subaru still has a lot to learn with their hub design. They take sooooo much stress

Really? I thought the WRX had higher insurance cost? It did for me:eek:

Sweet, thanks man...I'm also considering the P&L kit too.

If you can swing the sti the upgraded brakes, 2.5L, tranny make up for all of the 10K. Plus you get the sweeeet sti wing. :-p

Thanks for your input guys!

I have another question.
Right now im leaning more towards the STi due to the out of the box performance all around, but if I were to purchase a WRX, what are some of the performance bolt ons I could get to up the horsepower, equivilant to that of the STi, or even better?

**** a turbo.. fmic...injectors...and tuning... and u should be able equal a stock sti.


i tend to stay away form subys but they move out if done right.

lolololol

a lot more than if you just bought the STi in the first place, seriously. Power-wise, a stage 2 buildup (turboback exhaust and tune) might equal a stock STi in power, but then you gotta get into the trans, brakes, differentials, suspension, if you want to match the all-around package.

the WRX is a great car, no doubt, you wouldn't go wrong with one, but it would be cheaper to just buy the STi from the get-go if you desire more than just straight-line speed.

If you want a car that will be fast and reliable, go for the STi. Look around here and look at all of the problems that people who are modding their WRX are having. The STi has a higher cost up front, but to make a wrx as fast and reliable as the STi, yuo are gonna pay more than if you just bought the sti in the first place. The 5spd tranny in the wrx is weak. It will break and is a ticking time bomb once you get to that magical 300 hp mark.

Im actually tired of hearing that the STI is Uber crazy and reliable. The reason why 99% of the WRX's out there break and are slow is because of the owner.. Tuned poorly, horrible direction in mods, and just some are down right silly
Look at how many STI owners smoked their shortblock.. probably the same with WRX owners popping transmissions anymore.

No offense to STI owners, but they do not impress me. I'll take a stage4 bugeye over one. (unless its an 06 STI drool)
you want a real reliable car that will smoke an STI for less???

Swap a GC body and be done with it. Cheap insurance and is fast.

I agree! I am sure it is mostly owners.

or do the smart tihng and buy an evo. LOL

I think that there is also just jaded expectations too these days. Thing with these cars is that for their price, there really isn't anything else out there that has the all around package other than the EVO, and well...not getting into that debate here, haha.

I'd trade my car in a heartbeat for a GTR, but nothing in that 30-40k price range really compares all around other than the EVO.

I mean yeah, we can talk used cars and hell then I'd just buy a 1g DSM and mod that for all-out performance, but that argument will always be there for used cars doing more for the money.

Prior to the 06 WRX getting the 2.5l shortblock, there were a host of major differences between the two cars that made the pricetag of the STi pretty reasonable all things considered. After that shortblock upgrade on the WRX occured, it became more about the rest of the package because it had to. With the 09 WRX getting 265bhp, it will be interesting to see where Subaru takes the STi in the future, since theres now only a 40bhp difference between the two cars.

Back when I was buying in 2005, the differences were a lot clearer and the marketplace really didn't have anything else that could compete other than the EVO for anything under Corvette/Caymen money which made the $35k pricetag very easy to swallow. I mean seriously, the numbers they were putting up were in the supercar ballpark for next to no money. Still are, even if the 07-08 factory tunes do blow engines, hah.